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Topological phases of matter have established a new paradigm in physics, bringing quantum phenomena to the macroscopic scale and hosting exotic emergent quasiparticles. In this thesis, I theoretically and experimentally demonstrate with my collaborators the first Weyl semimetal, TaAs, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), directly observing its emergent Weyl fermions and topological Fermi arc surface states [Science 349, 6248 (2015); Nat. Commun. 6, 7373 (2015); PRL 116, 066802 (2016)]. Next, I discover high-degeneracy topological chiral fermions in the chiral crystals RhSi and CoSi, with wide topological energy window, maximal separation in momentum space and giant Fermi arcs [Nature 567, 500 (2019); Nat. Mat. 17, 978 (2018)]. I establish a natural relationship between the structural and topological chirality, associated with a robust topological state which we predict supports a four-unit quantized photogalvanic effect [PRL 119, 206401 (2017)]. I also discuss the first quantum topological superlattice, in multilayer heterostructures consisting of alternating topological and trivial insulators [Sci. Adv. 3, e1501692 (2017)]. The Dirac cones at each interface tunnel across layers, forming an emergent atomic chain where the Dirac cones serve as atomic orbitals. I achieve unprecedented control of hopping amplitudes within the superlattice, realizing a topological phase transition. Lastly, I discover a room-temperature topological magnet in Co$_2$MnGa [Science 365, 1278 (2019); PRL 119, 156401 (2017)]. I observe topological Weyl lines and drumhead surface states by ARPES, demonstrating a topological invariant supported by the materials intrinsic magnetic order. I also find that the large anomalous Hall effect in Co$_2$MnGa arises from the Weyl lines. I hope that my discovery of Co$_2$MnGa establishes topological magnetism as a new frontier in condensed matter physics.
Motivated by the discovery of the quantum anomalous Hall effect in Cr-doped ce{(Bi,Sb)2Te3} thin films, we study the generic states for magnetic topological insulators and explore the physical properties for both magnetism and itinerant electrons. First-principles calculations are exploited to investigate the magnetic interactions between magnetic Co atoms adsorbed on the ce{Bi2Se3} (111) surface. Due to the absence of inversion symmetry on the surface, there are Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya-like twisted spin interactions between the local moments of Co ions. These nonferromagnetic interactions twist the collinear spin configuration of the ferromagnet and generate various magnetic orders beyond a simple ferromagnet. Among them, the spin spiral state generates alternating counterpropagating modes across each period of spin states, and the skyrmion lattice even supports a chiral mode around the core of each skyrmion. The skyrmion lattice opens a gap at the surface Dirac point, resulting in the anomalous Hall effect. These results may inspire further experimental investigation of magnetic topological insulators.
Three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TIs) are new forms of quantum matter that are characterized by their insulating bulk state and exotic metallic surface state, which hosts helical Dirac fermions1-2. Very recently, BiTeCl, one of the polar semiconductors, has been discovered by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to be the first strong inversion asymmetric topological insulator (SIATI). In contrast to the previously discovered 3D TIs with inversion symmetry, the SIATI are expected to exhibit novel topological phenomena, including crystalline-surface-dependent topological surface states, intrinsic topological p-n junctions, and pyroelectric and topological magneto-electric effects3. Here, we report the first transport evidence for the robust topological surface state in the SIATI BiTeCl via observation of Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations, which exhibit the 2D nature of the Fermi surface and pi Berry phase. The n = 1 Landau quantization of the topological surface state is observed at B . 12 T without gating, and the Fermi level is only 58.8 meV above the Dirac point, which gives rise to small effective mass, 0.055me, and quite large mobility, 4490 cm2s-1. Our findings will pave the way for future transport exploration of other new topological phenomena and potential applications for strong inversion asymmetric topological insulators.
In addition to novel surface states, topological insulators can also exhibit robust gapless states at crystalline defects. Step edges constitute a class of common defects on the surface of crystals. In this work we establish the topological nature of one-dimensional (1D) bound states localized at step edges of the [001] surface of a topological crystalline insulator (TCI) Pb$_{0.7}$Sn$_{0.3}$Se, both theoretically and experimentally. We show that the topological stability of the step edge states arises from an emergent particle-hole symmetry of the surface low-energy physics, and demonstrate the experimental signatures of the particle-hole symmetry breaking. We also reveal the effects of an external magnetic field on the 1D bound states. Our work suggests the possibility of similar topological step edge modes in other topological materials with a rocks-salt structure.
A magnetic helix arises in chiral magnets with a wavelength set by the spin-orbit coupling. We show that the helimagnetic order is a nanoscale analog to liquid crystals, exhibiting topological structures and domain walls that are distinctly different from classical magnets. Using magnetic force microscopy and micromagnetic simulations, we demonstrate that - similar to cholesteric liquid crystals - three fundamental types of domain walls are realized in the helimagnet FeGe. We reveal the micromagnetic wall structure and show that they can carry a finite skyrmion charge, permitting coupling to spin currents and contributions to a topological Hall effect. Our study establishes a new class of magnetic nano-objects with non-trivial topology, opening the door to innovative device concepts based on helimagnetic domain walls.
Topological insulators represent a new state of quantum matter attractive to both fundamental physics and technological applications such as spintronics and quantum information processing. In a topological insulator, the bulk energy gap is traversed by spin-momentum locked surface states forming an odd number of surface bands that possesses unique electronic properties. However, transport measurements have often been dominated by residual bulk carriers from crystal defects or environmental doping which mask the topological surface contribution. Here we demonstrate (BixSb1-x)2Te3 as a tunable topological insulator system to manipulate bulk conductivity by varying the Bi/Sb composition ratio. (BixSb1-x)2Te3 ternary compounds are confirmed as topological insulators for the entire composition range by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) measurements and ab initio calculations. Additionally, we observe a clear ambipolar gating effect similar to that observed in graphene using nanoplates of (BixSb1-x)2Te3 in field-effect-transistor (FET) devices. The manipulation of carrier type and concentration in topological insulator nanostructures demonstrated in this study paves the way for implementation of topological insulators in nanoelectronics and spintronics.